Page 38 of Booked for Theft

“You want to get out anyone we can.” I wanted to keep as many people safe as possible, but I had no idea how to even begin the process. “I don’t understand how.”

“Tourism. My parents and your parents can get overseas relatively easily. They’re all retired, and your parents have money from your contract and my investments. And once I get you home, I will enjoy making you pay your fair share.”

“You’ll probably survive until Monday night.”

“It’ll be questionable.”

“Candles, dinner, and a struggle sound like an excellent way to spend a Monday night. It’s something nice to look forward to. But back on subject. You’re probably right, and we can get our parents out—if they cooperate. They won’t, though. My parents won’t leave their animals behind, they won’t leave us behind, and they certainly aren’t going to leave the rest of the cell behind. As far as my parents are concerned, they’ve adopted everyone in the cell, and that includes my boss and Leonard. And I’m sure they’d try to adopt your parents, but as they need them separate so I can marry you, they’re off the hook.”

“And as my parents feel the same way, it’s an issue. Dad certainly won’t abandon his company. I’m just glad Dad convinced Ren to stay put and do some research and training.”

“You were, outside of the drive to Washington, keeping company with the Secret Service. Ren would have gotten into a scuffle with the Secret Service, the posturing would have driven us both mad, and we didn’t need that drama.”

“That helped my cause, yes. I’m sure he’s indulging in anxiety by now, though he’s not as bad as you used to be.”

“So much anxiety,” I muttered. “At least you now come with benefits.”

“I do enjoy the benefits. Had I been wiser, I would have just proposed a promotion to wife while you were in the hospital.”

“Please assume I just gave you a pinch. Had you done that, I wouldn’t have Ajani right now, and that would be worse than a mere crime, sir.” I moved my feet, and my fluffy goddess pounced and snuggled me into submission. “She says she requires her servant to stay still for the rest of the night.”

“Did she attack your feet?”

“She sure did. It’s my fault. There might be monsters under the covers. She must defend us from any interlopers. We are her domain, thank you.”

“I am considering attempting the introduction of a young female kitten into our home to keep Ajani company when we can’t be with her. There’s a shelter not far from our place that has a new litter of kittens and a need for a foster for one or two of them. I may have made an arrangement to pick out our foster fail Monday morning. Oh, that reminds me. You can’t take Ajani to work on Monday. I have booked her to meet our new foster fail.”

“Did you tell the shelter you were intending on a foster fail?”

“I absolutely did. I explained we were going to adopt the first kitten that our former street cat accepted into our space with no care for breed, only that we wanted a second female. Apparently, this thrilled them, as it’s one kitten out the door. Since I’m currently working from home, I can attend to the little one’s special needs, which involves ready access to milk. The mother passed away, but the kittens were saved.”

“Can you bring the cat whisperer over to teach Ajani that we have to succeed at foster failing with the first kitten?”

“That was my plan. I am hoping that if I provide you with a small, defenseless animal in need of rescue, it will help you recover from your inability to save Senator Thaddens’s life.”

The ploy stood a good chance of working. “I could save any crying for tears of joy over how cute the kitten is.”

He chuckled. “That is also an option. But you’re going to wait until you think I’m asleep before bawling.”

“Come on, Bradley. You can’t keep busting me like this without involving handcuffs,” I complained.

“That backfired. Alas, not even three hours is sufficient time to do all the things I have planned for you, but I am confident you will make it to Monday unscathed. If you’re going to try to avoid sleeping through overthinking everything that has happened this week, try to make a plan on how we can infiltrate the homes of politicians with the intent to steal everything they own. Knowing what we need to steal is a much different issue than successfully stealing it.”

“Then there is the matter of the videos,” I whispered.

“That is a secret that is going to go with us to our graves. It’s not that I don’t trust the cell, but what they don’t know they can’t betray. And I can promise one thing: nobody is going to like what we’re trying to do.”

“Maybe you should run for president,” I muttered.

“I thought about it, but then my mother beat me to the chase and processed your official candidacy. I am registered to be a running mate, however.”

“You have got to be joking.”

“I’m not. I slid in right under deadline and did not inform anyone I did it. My mother filed you under all your names, including Asurella, which puts you closer to the top of the list. I filed under a legalized secondary name, and in my registration, I made a note that it was a childhood dream wish fulfillment so I wouldn’t undergo any suspicion. However, if anyone uses my legal name, it’s valid because the registration covers all legalized names belonging to the same individual.”

I sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“Mostly, I wanted you to ferret it out on your own, but then I realized that if you do start gaining traction, you need a running mate that is registered in the system, and the media could easily slip that I’m a hopeless romantic and joined the party my mother started. However, we’d worked independently.”